I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha

The edge of town.

Looking at the person who was waving a wand to repair the house, Roland remained in a daze for a long time.

People sometimes find it difficult to recognize people who look like themselves. It's often friends who say that person looks like you before you notice the resemblance.

Roland was feeling that way now.

At first, he didn't recognize the person, only feeling that the high-level apprentice's robe and wand looked familiar. Then, he suddenly realized that the person's hair and eyes were quite rare.

Finally, he suddenly realized that the person's height and appearance were incredibly similar to his own.

He even thought for a moment that his doppelganger had run out!

This was a younger version of himself. There was almost no difference in appearance between the two, but in terms of temperament, he seemed slightly green and had more of a scholarly air, and was also more lively.

It was like seeing a version of himself who was still in school, and a version of himself who was more mature.

Roland thought to himself, 'Desire and obsession... I lost my name in the mirror, so the scarecrow took my name and became me.'

Roland knew that this was a fake version of himself. He looked like he had flesh and blood, but if you cut him open, his skin would be filled with straw.

But he was alive, a living person.

Just then, the person in front of him suddenly sighed, sat down on the doorstep, and took out a crystal ball.

He seemed to want to communicate with someone, but after sighing a few times, he didn't take the next step. He just held the crystal ball and stared blankly into space.

Roland suddenly realized something and felt a sudden tingling in his scalp, and the whole world seemed to spin.

This is me!

This is me!

He realized his current predicament, so he dared not contact anyone but his senior sister. But after secretly contacting his senior sister a few times, he dared not contact her again for some reason.

His senior sister must have been confused, because she couldn't tell which one was Roland. Or rather, he was also Roland!

At this moment, someone suddenly walked over from a distance.

"How is it going, 9527?"

The 'Roland' sitting on the doorstep froze slightly and said, "I don't like that title."

The person in the distance walked over, sighed, and said, "I don't like your number either. At least yours is better than mine. Actually, I really wanted 9527... It's better than 1086."

Looking at the person walking from afar, Roland felt like he had been struck by a heavy hammer.

That was another Roland! Another version of himself!

At this moment, 1086 noticed that 9527 was holding a crystal ball in his hand and couldn't help but get angry: "Don't secretly call Senior Sister! She will feel very troubled! The 'obsession' side effect brought about by the Scarecrow Disease has to be solved by ourselves, and we have to find a way out by ourselves!"

9527 said helplessly, "Big brother, all the communication devices have been uniformly destroyed in the vote. The one in my hand is just a video recording of a previous communication with Senior Sister."

1086 snorted coldly and said, "Who knows if anyone is secretly hiding things? Everyone thinks they are special, the most correct one, and wants to hide it from everyone and ask for help in checking the information."

9527 shook his head and said, "Check my ass, hasn't Senior Sister already refused to accept any communication from us? In order not to let her come, we said so many nasty things. Although she knows that we are not Zero, who can know if this is our true intention?"

Hearing this, Roland felt terrible. He cursed in his heart: 'What did you bastards say?! I'll fuck you!'

1086 suddenly asked, "Ahem, Senior Sister won't suddenly come to kill us, will she?"

9527 said, "Kill? She definitely wants to kill 'me' now, wishing she could cut me into a thousand pieces. But if she comes, she probably still wants to save 'me'. However, she won't end her seclusion until she gets out of that logical trap. Besides, if she wants to come, she will definitely go to the Wizard Tower first, and Zero is in the Wizard Tower, so he won't let that fool come."

1086 nodded and said, "As long as she has a brain and has seen Zero, she can definitely guess some things. She should understand that it is useless for others to intervene in this matter. We can only solve it by ourselves."

9527 nodded and said, "Yes, the scarecrow's obsession is too strong. Unless we eliminate the obsession or destroy the scarecrow, none of us can get out... We all have severe obsessive-compulsive disorder now."

At this moment, some flames appeared in the distance. The two couldn't help but curse, "Damn it! Which idiot couldn't hold back again? These days have been wasted again!"

1086 suddenly asked, "Have you tried to advance? You know, only after advancing will we have a chance to destroy the scarecrow."

9527 shook his head: "No, the probability is even smaller than we predicted. Unless we obtain the complete name and use the Butterfly Tribulation, there is no possibility. Leona is with Zero, and the Amber Gemstone is also there. Except for him, no one can advance..."

Before he finished speaking, 9527 suddenly disappeared in place. 1086 suddenly realized something.

— Drawing the sword, striking, sheathing the sword.

A thunderfire magic blade was slashed out by 1086 and flew rapidly towards the mid-air not far away.

Looking at the thunderfire magic blade flying towards him, Roland was slightly startled. He turned into lightning and dodged the blow.

At this moment, a person with a coral sword stuck in his chest fell from the roof—it was 9527.

It turned out that Roland had taken advantage of the two's relaxation of vigilance and launched a sneak attack, directly releasing the Coral Sword towards 9527.

Unexpectedly, the little apprentice had a ghostly premonition of danger and entered the shallow world with a silver pocket watch.

When he first entered the shallow world, he had an 'invincible frame', but in the next second, Roland locked onto him again. Then Leona pulled him out of the shallow world.

After Roland hit 9527, he got entangled with 1086.

"Little thing, you are so difficult to deal with!"

1086 laughed loudly: "Hahaha! Good trick! Good trick! After advancing, I have really achieved great success! Come, come, let me see how many moves I can exchange with a formal wizard!"

Roland's face became extremely ugly. He thought he could solve these two versions of himself in two moves, but unexpectedly, one dodged his Coral Sword's first blow, and the other took several of his moves!

At this moment, he heard a burst of wild laughter from 9527's side. He looked over in astonishment and found that the guy's whole body was slowly turning into a coral wood carving, but it seemed that he could still last for two minutes!

"How is that possible?! This is just a high-level apprentice! How could he not immediately coralize?!"

9527 laughed loudly: "What coral? I am a human, how can a human turn into coral? How can I turn into a wood carving? You're crazy!"

A thunderbolt flashed through Roland's mind, and he suddenly understood why this version of himself didn't immediately turn into a coral wood carving—high SAN and self-hypnosis!

Waves of magical power fluctuations came from the distance, and it seemed that more 'selves' had discovered the fight here and were rushing over.

Roland was shocked. He couldn't resist if only three or five more came!

He cursed at the two guys who were still resisting, "What are you doing! Hurry up and let the Archmage save you!"

9527 laughed wildly: "You are so struggling to deal with a high-level apprentice, you are not qualified to inherit my karma!"

1086 grinned: "Come, come, leave the complete name. Then we will merge into one, so everyone can achieve enlightenment and become immortals!

At that time, we will have more than a thousand scarecrow immortals, playing around everywhere, and marrying more than eight thousand wives, wouldn't that be wonderful!"

Roland was slightly stunned for 0.1 seconds and smiled: "As expected of me, this idea is wonderful! Anyway, it's all me, more than eight thousand wives, which is equivalent to me marrying eight thousand wives alone, wonderful, wonderful!"

With that, he struck with a deadly hand.

After three moves, the second little Roland was pierced through the chest by his sword.

Then, before he could do anything else, he heard a gust of wind behind him, and then he turned into a scarecrow!

— Forbidden Transformation!

Swish swish swish... Seven or eight flashing thunderbolts roared over, Roland was shocked, controlled the clone to wrap himself and turned into a divine bird, and then turned into lightning and fled the town.

1086 looked at the embarrassed version of himself running away, spat out the last mouthful of blood, and slowly turned into a coral wood carving.

He clutched the wound on his chest and finally thought: "Roland, ah, Roland, I only managed to deal with two versions of myself before advancing after more than a dozen moves... I still have to practice, otherwise I will become a handful of straw first..."

On this side, Roland was sweating profusely and flew frantically. Those guys chased him for more than a dozen miles. He hid many times in the middle, but they sensed Leona and sensed Roland.

It wasn't until the flames in the distant town grew bigger and bigger that those guys left one by one in extreme entanglement.

For them, Scarecrow Town was like a disease, a mental illness. This mental illness was the root of their existence, so it was like suffering from extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even if they knew that they were actually Roland, they couldn't get rid of the obsession belonging to the scarecrow, and couldn't get rid of the shackles.

So even if they could get out of the ghost fog, they couldn't break free from the shackles in their hearts. They couldn't run far.

Roland circled around outside for a long time and made sure that no one was chasing him before returning to the tower.

He was still in shock and couldn't sleep soundly all night.

In his dream, he turned into a straw in Scarecrow Town. He knew that he was Roland and knew that he shouldn't stay here. But there was a chain tied to his feet. This chain came from the church deep in the town, from the straw in the mirror in the church.

[You have found a version of yourself and synchronized a certain ability. Repair Spell Comprehension + 800, current Repair Spell IV (17.3%)]

You have retrieved a part of yourself and synchronized a certain ability. Odd Object Alchemy Comprehension +1383, Current Odd Object Alchemy Knowledge: Beginner (2.83%)

Roland woke up with a start, realizing he had gained some new memories.

They were the memories of 9527 and 1086. No, they were the memories of two selves, 9527 and 1086 were both himself!

They were his past!

Their experiences were his real experiences!

Before killing them, he couldn't realize this, but after killing them, the past self and the present self collapsed into one, and he suddenly realized that they were all him!

So, the little Rolands in Straw Town were all himself!

They were his past, and also the embodiment of his desires, obsessions, and delusions!

I have to help myself get free, I have to cut off these past selves!

A fierce look appeared in Roland's eyes.

That day, Roland benefited greatly from meditation.

Those 'selves' had taken root in the mysteries of Straw Town. Every time he killed a 'Straw Roland,' it was as if he had been rolling around in Straw Town for a very long time. Meditating in this state allowed him to touch the underlying world, making meditation twice as effective.

The next day, he went to Straw Town again.

This time, he successfully ambushed a self without causing any commotion.

Watching his corpse slowly turn into coral wood carvings, and then slowly disappear, turning into a scarecrow, Roland's expression was very strange.

Besides this pile of straw, that self didn't leave anything behind. Flesh, odd objects, robes... all seemed like mirror images. As if they never existed.

Next, Roland went to Straw Town every day. He also deeply realized how difficult he was to deal with. Clearly, he was just a high-level apprentice, clearly he would die with one hit. But he always used various means or tricks to escape. He even bit back, leaving Roland battered and exhausted.

Occasionally, he would be besieged by a group of selves, but the success rate of the Forbidden Transformation Spell on him became lower and lower.

The core meaning of the Forbidden Transformation Spell is to distort self-awareness and change the essence of the target. Once the target's willpower is stronger and has a strong awareness of itself, then the distortion will fail.

As the number of battles increased, Roland became more and more skilled in the use of various magics. Occasionally, he would kill a 'self' who often studied Odd Object Alchemy and other things he had previously neglected, and after retrieving this memory, Roland would synchronize with another self in this ability.

These 'selves' have merged into the mysteries, making them difficult to kill. The best way to deal with these 'Little Rolands' is the 'Coral Sword'.

When Leona controlled the Coral Sword, the Coral Sword was unpredictable, but it was far less experienced than Roland. Clearly, she could knock down those 'Little Rolands' with one move, but instead, she was often teased by them.

They knew Leona too well and knew her routines like the back of their hand.

Their evasion was already very high, and when facing Leona, they had an evasion bonus! And each time, even if they were hit by a sword, they were only injured. It would only turn into a coral wood carving after a while.

But when Roland personally helped Leona control the Coral Sword, the situation was very different, because he knew himself too well.

Roland's command, coupled with Leona's movement. Both unpredictable and insidious.

As the number of people in Straw Town decreased, the remaining people became more vigilant. Everyone began to patrol and stand guard, and even formulated many tactics. Attacking one would stir up a hornet's nest.

But how can one guard against thieves day and night?

Although the results were greatly affected, Roland could always find a way to kill a few every day.

These 'Little Rolands' became Roland's whetstone!

When the matter of Straw Town entered the later stage, Roland's various magics, swordsmanship, movement, and combat experience were already vastly different from when he had just been promoted.

In the later battles, he could even forcibly destroy one person after another under the siege of a dozen 'Little Rolands'. Then escape before the main force arrived.

When the crowd dispersed, he would kill his way back and kill those dogs who spoke rudely to him.

On this day, a strange Roland secretly sneaked into Straw Town from the air. He floated in the air, his body looked very flexible, but his head was very mechanical when twisting, and it would also make a clicking sound like a puppet.

Looking around, the entire town was covered with demon sealing arrays!

These demon sealing arrays were very complex and could seal demons without the Book of Demons.

Roland chuckled: "As expected of me, I really have crooked ideas. Currently, the success rate of the Forbidden Transformation Spell on me is 8%, and the success rate on Leona is 5.6%. If a dozen people are added together, I am still a little dangerous."

In his words, he scanned with his divine sense, and then his body disappeared in place. Immediately afterwards, he appeared in a large house in the town.

In this large house, there were many odd object alchemy devices woven with straw, and a little Roland with messy hair was forging a strange magic puppet here.

To what extent have you researched your odd object alchemy?

The sudden voice behind him startled Little Roland.

Little Roland turned his head and looked at Big Roland. Before he could react, a big hand patted his shoulder.

Little Roland looked at his shoulder, which immediately began to petrify after being touched.

Little Roland's face became extremely ugly, and he said with red eyes: "Why are you bothering me, why don't you go find someone else! I'm about to succeed, I'm about to succeed! Odd object ascension, do you understand!"

Roland smiled, stretched out ten fingers, and made a puppet-manipulating gesture in mid-air. Immediately afterwards, Little Roland's body seemed to be out of control, and he danced a mechanical dance.

Little Roland cursed while crying and dancing. Two minutes later, he turned into a coral wood carving.

Roland pointed his finger, and then the wood carving fell apart. The broken remains slowly turned into coral-like straw.

Roland took out the Book of Aleya from his waist and saw the following written on it:

You have synchronized with another self!

Odd Object Alchemy + 1.68%

Current: Odd Object Alchemy. Intermediate (1.68%)

Just intermediate odd object alchemy, what are you ascending for?

After muttering for a while, Roland took out the Book of the Dead and chanted scriptures for the coral straw that had been broken on the ground.

During this time, Roland discovered that as long as he turned Little Roland into a coral wood carving and killed him, the corpse would turn into coral straw.

These coral straws are fragments of the straw's main body and can be transcended.

After the transcendence, Roland continued to cause trouble.

At this time, he suddenly frowned and looked at the magic puppet not far away.

At this moment, the magic puppet's face showed a very human-like panic. The magic puppet turned around and was about to leave, but Roland flashed to its side and touched it. Then the magic puppet turned into a coral wood carving.

Again, a move that shattered into pieces, the magic puppet shattered all over the ground.

New words appeared on the Book of Aleya.

You have synchronized with another self!

Odd Object Alchemy + 38%

Current: Odd Object Alchemy. Intermediate (39.68%)

Roland's face suddenly became very ugly: "Crazy, actually using this method to create a new self, it's a good thing I discovered it early, otherwise a 'Magic Puppet. Roland' would have escaped!"

After this magic puppet died, it did not turn into coral straw, which meant that it had broken free from its obsession! Without obsession, it can leave Straw Town!

Pointing his finger at his head, Roland recalled the memories of the Little Rolands, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

This is the last guy who is frantically researching alchemy. Well, there are still a few guys who are researching necromancy, and they may also use similar methods to get out.